Keeping a Promise
by Triforce03
Summary: All Aryll wants for her birthday is a visit from her older brother, Link. However, this proves to be a bit more difficult than expected.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes: Hello fellow readers and/or writers! Thanks for deciding to read this short five chapter story. Based on the brotherly bond between Link and Aryll. Hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 1: The promise

_**Hey Brother**_

_**There's an endless road to re-discover**_

_**Hey Sister**_

_**Know the water's sweet but blood is thicker**_

_**Ohhh, if the sky comes fallin down, for you...**_

_**...there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do**_

Five months ago, a crew of pirates set out to find a new land in order to establish a New Hyrule. They searched far and wide and had many great adventures along the way, venturing across uncharted parts of the Great Sea. Three days ago, their work finally paid off. They had found land in order to establish New Hyrule. They had made small homes and villages. And just like that, a new kingdom was under development.

One individual among the pirates was Link, the hero who saved the world from the evil Ganondorf. He had to leave his loved ones behind: his beloved grandmother and sister, Aryll. But it was for the sake of Hyrule. Where is Link now you may ask? Well...

"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz" snored Link in his sleep. He was exhausted after yesterday's work. His friend/girlfriend, Tetra, had him work late last night by picking up heavy crates of treasure, digging holes, and burying the treasure in the dirt.

"Rise and shine, hero. We need to get some supplies from the ship." said the pirate captain, Tetra. "C'mon, sleeping beauty, we don't have all day!". Link groaned as he got out of bed and followed Tetra outside.

Link and Tetra went onboard the ship in order to unload more stuff. Link went inside his cabin to get some of his junk. While looking through his drawers, he found something: his old pictobox. "Hey, I've been looking everywhere for this!" he said.

"Link? What are you doing?" asked Tetra, looking upset.

"Say cheese, Tetra!" he said as he took her photo.

"Don't you- Link! You know I hate having my photo taken!" yelled Tetra in anger.

"Sounds like somebody needs a hug!" said Link, lovingly with open arms.

Tetra put her left hand on her knife, "No, what I need is for you to get rid of that photo before I get rid of you!" she said, threatening Link.

"Okay, okay! Sheesh!" said Link as he erased the photo. Then Link saw a photo he took five months ago, which was a photo of him, his grandma, and his sister on the shore of Outset Island. Link sighed and continued to browse, but all he saw was a photo of his sister and grandmother and his sister.

"I thought I told you to erase that picture!" said Tetra, walking towards him.

"I did. I'm just looking at these old photos." said Link as Tetra sat down next to him. He sighed in sorrow once again as he continued to look at the photos.

"Ah, I see what's going on...you miss them right?" said Tetra, a hint of sincerity in her voice.

"Yeah..." said Link, feeling a pain in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Link. I don't know what to say." said Tetra.

"Don't worry, it's okay. Let's just get back to work." said Link, still holding his pictobox full of memories.

After two hours of work, Link sat down to look at his pictures. Suddenly, Nico walked up to him. "Ahoy there, Link!" he said, waving at him.

"Oh, hey Nico." said Link, saluting him back.

"Here ya are, me swabbie! For you." he said, holding out a letter.

"Alright, a letter! Thanks Nico!" said Link, recieving the letter.

"Sure thing, matey" said Nico as he walked away. Link opened the envelope, took out the letter, and began to read:

_Dear Link,_

_Hello, my grandson! It's been so long! How have you been? Are you well? Everything is fine back at Outset. So, how are things going between you and Tetra? I'm just kidding, that's none of my business. Oh Link, we miss you a lot. Especially Aryll, she misses you so much. She's not as social as she used to be. She's just not as cheerful anymore. Her birthday is coming up in a couple of days. Do you think you can visit her? It would mean the world to her, and me. Your sister and I love you Link, never forget that._

_Sincerely, Your grandmother_

After another two hours of work, Link finally got to take a break. The pirates were drinking cider, but Link was drinking milk. However, he didn't even touch his milk because he was too busy writing something. Tetra was the first to ask what he was doing.

"What are you writing, Link?" asked Tetra.

"A letter." said Link, focusing on his work.

"To?" asked Tetra, still confused.

"Someone." replied Link.

"Named?" Tetra asked, starting to feel annoyed.

Link stopped writing and looked at Tetra. "I was planning to tell you later, but I guess I'll tell you now. Tetra, I've made my decision. I am gonna go visit my sister on Outset."

"What? Are you insane? Do you know how far we are from Outset Island? Plus, you are needed here, so the answer is no." said Tetra in a stern tone.

"Thanks Terta, but I wasn't asking for permission." said Link. "Look, I have to go. Aryll really misses me and I miss her too. It's her birthday in a few days. I have to be there. For her."

Tetra sighed, "Look Link, I understand why you are doing this, but Outset Island is very far away from here. How do you plan to get there in a few days?"

"If I leave early in the morning, I'll have three whole days to get there. The swift sail might help me get there faster. I'll pack some food and rupees! Don't worry! I'll be okay." he said.

Tetra mused to herself, then sighed,"Okay then, you win. You can go."

"Yes! Thank you, Tetra!" said Link as he hugged her and went to go prepare for his trip.

The next morning, Link was packed and ready to go. He was wearing his green hat and tunic. Link hopped into his old boat and took out his map.

"You'd better come back soon! Good luck!" said Tetra as he began to sail away.

"I'm coming home, Aryll. Big brother is coming home." he said to himself as he sailed faster into the sea. One way or another, he'll get to Outset. He has to.

**Author's Notes: Done! Sorry if in the end it becomes crappy. It's 1:40 AM and my brain is half-on. The song in the beginning is Hey Brother by Avicii. I thought it fit the story nicely. I'm gonna go to sleep now. Triforce03 out!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: Hello readers! I hope you liked the first chapter. Here comes chapter two.**

Chapter 2: Aryll's birthday wish

_**Hey Brother**_

_**Do you still believe in one another?**_

_**Hey Sister**_

_**Do you still believe in love, I wonder?**_

_**Ohhh, if the sky comes fallin down, for you...**_

_**...there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do**_

Aryll lay in her bed fast asleep, bundled up in her blanket and slightly drooling on her pillow. The morning sunlight peeked through the window and shined on Aryll's eyes. Aryll woke up, opening her eyes and sat upright in her bed, yawning. She looked left and saw her grandmother putting something in the oven.

"Good morning, Aryll." said Grandma, taking off her cooking mitts.

"Good morning, Grandma!" said Aryll cheerfully, getting out of bed to hug her grandmother. "Grandma! Grandma! Guess what today is!" she said, jumping up and down.

"Um, is it Friday?" said Grandma, with a sarcastic tone and an innocent smile.

"No, Grandma! It's my birthday today!" she said with great joy.

"I'm just kidding, sweetheart. Of course I know it's your birthday." said Grandma. "Happy birthday kiddo." she said, hugging Aryll and brushing Aryll's hair.

Once their hug ended, Aryll looked at the oven. "What did you put in the oven, Grandma?" asked a very curious Aryll.

"Well, it was supposed to be a surprise, but I'm baking you a cake for your special day." replied Grandma.

"A cake?! Yummy!" squealed Aryll in delight.

"And since were revealing surprises, I wanted to tell you that were throwing you a birthday party." said Grandma.

"A birthday party?! For me?! Yay!" said Aryll, hugging her grandmother again.

"I already talked to Orca, and he said he would be more than happy to host your party in his home." said Grandma, smiling at her granddaughters excietment.

"Thank you, grandma! Thank you!" said Aryll, hugging her tightly.

"You're welcome, sweetie." said Grandma, hugging Aryll. She felt so warm-hearted to see Aryll happy again. It had been a while since she's seen Aryll that excited, ten months to be exact.

Aryll got dressed into her usual blue dress with sunflowers and did her hair. She then ate some breakfast and then helped her grandmother with chores. While Aryll was fixing her bed, she saw the framed picture she kept by her bedside. It was a picture of herself and her brother, Link, standing on the beach with Link's arm around Aryll. Aryll sighed to herself as her grandmother sat next to her.

"You miss him, don't you?" said Grandma.

"Mm-hmm." said Aryll, holding back sobs.

"Aww, it's okay, Aryll. Don't cry. I miss him too. But don't worry, he'll come back one day."

"But what if he doesn't? What if he never comes back? Just like my nightmares!" Aryll started to cry onto her Grandma's lap.

"There, There. It's alright. He'll come back. I promise." said Grandma, patting Aryll on the since Link left Outset Island, Aryll had been bored and depressed. She didn't play with the gulls as much as she used to, everytime she went to the lookout she cried because she misses her brother, and every few nights Aryll wakes up crying due to nightmares of her brother never coming back. It saddened Grandma to see her granddaughter like that.

"I wish that my brother would come back. That's all I want for my birthday: my brother. Nothing else." said Aryll, taking a deep breath to stop her crying.

Later on, Aryll went outside. All of her friends wished her a happy birthday. Grandma was busy the whole day, preparing the decorations for Aryll's party at Orca's house. Meanwhile, Aryll appeared to have regained her happiness and was drawing a seagull in the wet dirt with a stick. Suddenly, Quill, the rito postman flew from the sky and landed in front of Aryll's mailbox. He pulled out two items: a brown parcel package and a letter in an envelope. Quill noticed Aryll and walked up to her.

"Ah, Aryll. Just the girl I was looking for." said Quill.

"Hello, Mr. Quill!" she said, getting up. "Why are you looking for me?" she said.

"Well, it is your birthday today, right." Quill said.

"Uh-huh." replied Aryll.

"Well, I got you something special." he said, handing Aryll the package. "Feel free to open it."

Aryll opened the package and saw a white messenger bag with a green pouch and red and blue designs. "Oh, wow." said Aryll in amusement.

"It's a messenger bag. Medli and I made it. Do you like it?" asked Quill.

"Yes, of course I do. Thank you, Mr. Quill." said Aryll.

"You're very welcome, Aryll. Also, you got a letter from your brother." he said, handing Aryll the letter.

"What?" said Aryll in shock as she took the letter from Quill's hands.

Quill then wished Aryll a happy birthday and flew away. Aryll tore the envelope with haste, eager to read the letter.

_ Hey Aryll! How's it going? It's been a while, right? Well, things are going great in New Hyrule. We've finally found land big enough for our kingdom. It's huge. The villagers are nice as well. Hey, guess what? I think Tetra's starting to like me. The other day, instead of giving me a high five, she hugged me! The pirates miss you, but not as much as I do. Not a day goes by that I don't think of you. Right now, I wish you were here with me. Cuz right now, everything is new to me. Hey, you're birthday is coming up right? Why don't I come over to celebrate with you and Grandma? I know I haven't been able to come in the past, but this time I promise. Aryll, I promise you that I will be there, no matter what._

_ Your big brother, Link_

_P.S.: Save me a slice of cake!_

Aryll was flushed with emotion. She was so happy! Her birthday wish was about to come true! She was going to see her big brother again after so long! She went to go play with the gulls, a huge smile across her face.

**Author's Notes: Augh! Done. Finally, thought I'd never get done. There's a song reference in this chapter, besides Hey Brother. Can you find it? Leave your reviews, good or bad. Feedback and suggestions always welcome. Time to sleep! Triforce03 out!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes: Welcome back! The hidden song in the last chapter was Right Now by One Direction. I think it captures the story's theme nicely, along with Hey Brother. Shall we continue?**

Chapter 3: Awaiting his arrival

**_What if I'm far from home?_**

**_Oh brother, I will hear you call_**

**_What if I lose it all?_**

**_Oh sister, I will help you out_**

**_Ohh, if the sky comes fallin down, for you..._**

**_...there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do_**

Link watched the sunrise across the horizon as he sailed across the Great Sea. He had been sailing for two whole days. He stopped at a rest stop for sailors to catch up on sleep. Link suddenly remembered that Aryll's birthday was today.

"Damn it! I didn't make it in time." Link said to himself. He had miscalculated the amount of time it took to get to Outset. He wanted to arrive the morning of her birthday, but according to the map he still had more to go. "Hope I can still get there by today." he said, turning the swift sail as fast as it could go.

Meanwhile, Aryll was overwhelmed with excitement about her big brother coming back. She couldn't keep the news to herself, so she told her two friends, Zill and Joel.

"Wow! For reals? Link is coming?" said Zill, sounding as astounded as ever.

"Yeah! He sent me a letter to prove it, see?" said Aryll, eagerly showing the two boys Link's letter.

"Gee, Aryll. That's great!" said Joel. "When is he gonna get here?"

"Um, I don't know. He didn't say." said Aryll, looking out at the sea. "Hey, I have an idea. You wanna go up to the lookout and wait for Link?" she said, pointing to the lookout.

"Yeah, let's go!" said Joel as he, Aryll, and Zill went to the top of the lookout. Aryll pulled out her telescope and gazed at the sea, hoping her brother would arrive shortly.

Meanwhile, Link was sailing as fast as he could. He noticed that it was already noon. He was about to pull out his map, until an explosion caught him off guard. The boat made a sharp right turn, crashing into a small island. Link got up and noticed that he was under attack by bokoblin pirates. "Grrr, these guys are just slowing me down. I don't have time for this!" Link said to himself as he pulled out his boat's cannon and blasted bombs at the bokoblin ships. However, some bokoblins got too close and made it next to Link. Link steps out of his boat and onto the sand, pulling out a sword. Then, a ship arrives and a group of bokoblins come out. Link swings his sword at some of them, carefully avoiding their attacks. He then uses a spin attack to knock them away from him. He does a back flip to dodge a nearby bokoblin's sword, however a ship aims it's cannon at Link and fires a bomb. Link is sent flying by the explosion into a rock wall. He is lying on the floor, his vision blurry and ears ringing. Then, Link loses consciousness as he sees what appears to be a bokoblin holding a rope and grinning evilly.

Meanwhile, Aryll was pacing back and forth on the lookout, taking a look out of her telescope every now and then. Joel and Zill had gotten bored after a while and were sitting on the lookout. Afterwards, Joel got up and said "Hey..uh Aryll, it's been three hours. Why don't you take a break? You look tired."

"Huh? N-no. That's okay." said Aryll, trying to hiding her exhaustion. "I want to see when he gets here so I can run up to him and give him a big hug."

"But what if he doesn't show up?" asked Joel, not realizing what he asked.

These words hurt Aryll. They made her feel sad and angry. "He is gonna show up! I know he is because he promised he would and my big brother never breaks his promises!" she yelled, fighting back the tears in her eyes.

"Sorry I asked, Aryll. Well, me and Zill are gonna go now. We'll see you at the party." said Joel as he and Zill climbed down the ladder, leaving Aryll all alone.

"Maybe he's just late. He is gonna come. I know it. He promised." she thought to herself as she continued looking through her telescope, hoping to see her brother sailing this way.

Meanwhile, Link awoke to find himself tied up onboard a boat filled with bokoblins. Link struggled to break free of the rope around him, but alas, he couldn't. Link looked outside the window in his cell and saw the sunset on the horizon. Suddenly, reality hit him hard: he was running out of time. "No. No, no, no, this can't be happening! It can't be sunset!" said Link. He was becoming angered with himself. He couldn't even keep such a simple promise to the person he cared about most! Tears were beginning to form in his eyes as he sat on the bed, thinking about the people he has let down.

Meanwhile, Aryll was battling her sleepiness as she continued looking through her telescope in search of her brother. She yawned due to her boredom, but resumed searching. She had been on the lookout since the afternoon all the way till sunset; almost 6 hours straight. Finally however, her boredom was catching up with her. She put her telescope down, lied down, rested her head on her arms and took a nap.

Meanwhile, Link decided that he was not going to give up now. He made a promise to be with his sister on her special day and he was going to keep it, no matter the cost. He looked around and saw a shard of glass. Link picked it up and cut through the rope around his hands, followed by his legs, then the rest of it. He looked around and noticed the guard sleeping with the key to his cell on his table. Link tied up all the cut ropes and used them to lasso the key onto the floor and then into Link's cell. He used the key to open the door and then quietly left the room. Link snuck past several guards in order to make it onto the main deck. Hiding behind some barrels, Link noticed that behind the boat was the King of Red Lions being pulled by the ship.

"Hmm, looks like my boat is over there. Maybe I can ditch these losers if I'm extremely quiet." he said. Link decided to stay quiet, otherwise the bokoblins might gang up on him again. Crawling and sidling his way to the back of the main deck without being seen, Link jumped off the ship and landed in the water. He swam to his boat, got onboard, and cut the rope connecting his boat to theirs.

"Yes! Looks like those idiots forgot to take my map!" he said, pulling it out and reading it. "Looks like Outset isn't too far from here. I can still make it! Don't worry, Aryll. Big brother is almost there!" he said, turning the swift sail on as much as it could go.

Meanwhile, Aryll had woken up from her nap. She gasped and turned to the dock, hoping to see her brother's boat. But to her dismay, she didn't see anything. It was already nighttime and Link still wasn't here. Aryll felt her heart shatter. He wasn't here. "Big brother? Where are you?" she said, feeling disappointed.

Suddenly, Aryll heard her grandma calling her. "Aryll? Sweetheart, you've been up there all day. Why don't you come down here so we can go to your birthday party? After all, you are the guest of honor." Grandma said, sounding very compassionate.

Aryll had given up. It was time to face facts: Link isn't coming. It looks like it was too good to be true. She sighed sadly and said "Okay..." as she made her way down the lookout and walked with her Grandma to Orca's house, her head facing down in sadness.

**Author's Notes: Done! Ugh, I've got a headache right now. Please leave feedback. I always appreciate it. Thank you to the people who reviewed and liked my story so far. Any suggestions? Comments? Feel free to tell me. Triforce03 out!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes: Hello everybody! It looks like we've finally reached the climax of the story.I have not been procrastinating for once and have been trying hard to finish this story. Now that we got that out of the way, y'know what? I've never put a disclaimer for this story. I do not own The Legend of Zelda. Okay, now let's continue reading.**

Chapter 4: Heartbroken

Link steered the boat as best he could, sailing as fast as the wind would take him. He prayed that no more distractions came in his way. Right now, there was only one person on his mind: Aryll. He might have been late, but he still had a chance to see his sister. "Don't worry, Aryll. Big brother is almost home." Link thought as he sped across the sea.

Meanwhile, Aryll was as miserable as she could be. The cheerful attitude she had in the afternoon was replaced by a gloomy and depressed attitude. The joyful smile on her face became an expression of pure sadness. Everyone tried to cheer her up, but none were successful. She didn't even participate in her party games. She just sat against the wall, her head buried in her arms and knees. Every now and then, she would glimpse out of Orca's window with the hopes that Link would be outside, tying his boat to the dock, but every time she looked all she did was hurt herself more.

"Aryll, sweetie, I'm sorry that Link couldn't make it." said her Grandma, putting her arm around the sobbing child. "Maybe he was just too busy. But just because he's not here, it doesn't mean he doesn't love you."

"I kn-n-n-now, but I m-m-miss him." said Aryll, speaking through sobs. "It's-t's n-not f-f-fair. He pro-pro-mi-i-sed." she said, crying her eyes out.

Grandma put her arms around her weeping child. It hurt her deeply to see Aryll like this, so much, in fact, that even she felt like crying. Ever since Link left, Aryll was the one that missed him the most. And today, she had a chance to see her big brother again after so long. She spent most of her birthday awaiting his arrival only to be disappointed in the end. "It's alright, Aryll. Don't cry. Would Link want you to cry today?" said Grandma, wiping Aryll's tears sniffled and said "No.".

"Exactly. He'd want you to have fun. Now, how about we go get some of that cake that I made for you?" said Grandma.

"Okay..." said Aryll as she sniffled and got up on her feet. She and Grandma walked up to the table where everyone was gathered around and on the table was a really good-looking cake coated in white icing and pink frosting with the words "Happy Birthday Aryll" written in red frosting. Aryll smiled at the cake and wiped the remaining tears away.

"On the count of three..." said Orca, "one...two...three!" he counted down as everyone sang the happy birthday song. "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Aryll, Happy Birthday to you!" they sang.

"Now then, Aryll, blow out the candles and make a wish." said Orca. Aryll was thinking of a wish, then she remembered that she already made a wish that didn't come true. Aryll thought of how desperately she wanted Link to be with her today. She felt tears building in her eyes as she got out of her seat and ran out the door, sobbing. She ran inside her home and slammed the door, blinded by her own tears. However, when Aryll slammed the door, she knocked down a nearby lantern on the patio, causing it to fall down and break. The flame within the lantern started to grow bigger and bigger, until eventually the entire patio caught fire.

Shortly after Aryll left, Grandma went outside to try to calm her down. "Aryll?" she called, until she saw the house on fire. "Oh my goddess! Help! Someone please help!" she yelled frantically, trying to get help. Everyone came out and saw what was happening. The fire had now spread across more than half the house. Orca, Sturgeon, and Abe all got buckets of water and tried extinguishing the fire, but it was too big and only continued to grow. Suddenly, it occured to Grandma: Aryll was in there as well! "Aryll is in there! Get her out of there please!" she told the three men, but none could get near the flames as it was too hot to approach. Grandma could do nothing now but pray for a miracle.

Aryll threw her framed photo of her and her brother onto the floor, smashing the glass and breaking the frame. She covered herself in her bedsheets and sobbed into her pillow.

"I-It's n-not f-fair-r! A-All I wa-n-ted w-as my b-ig bro-o-ther!" she cried to herself with her face in her pillow. Soon, she regretted throwing the framed picture. She got up and picked up just the photograph. She looked at it, tears falling down her face, and clutched it tightly. Soon, she started to notice that it was getting uncomfortably hot. She started to sweat, wondering what was causing the heat, until a piece of the roof came in on fire. Aryll jumped back in fright then heard what sounded like flames roaring. She looked outside the window and put her hands on the glass. The burn from the heated glass caused her to squeal in pain. She noticed that the wood inside the house was starting to catch fire. She panicked and screamed as loud as she could. "Help! Please help me somebody!" she pleaded, hoping someone would hear her.

Meanwhile, Link was finally approaching Outset Island. After so much sailing and so many obstacles, his hard work was about to pay off. He glanced down at his map. "Outset is up ahead. Finally!" he said, sounding relieved. "Wait a minute...what is that?" he asked, looking forward at a nearby ahead, he saw Outset Island but one of the houses seemed to be brighly lit. He quickly took notice that it was his house. "Hmm, the only logical explanation for that is...oh no. Don't worry, guys! I'm coming!" he said, sailing to Outset Island as fast as he could.

**Author's Notes: Done! Next chapter is the final chapter. Also, quick message. If you can, can you pretty please leave a comment or review on the story? I really enjoy reading the reviews! Please? I'd really appreciate it. Thanks! See you guys on the last chapter! Triforce03 out!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Notes: Hello and welcome to the final chapter of this story. This will be the first fanfic I have ever completed, so I'd really appreciate some feedback on this one. With that being said, let's put this story to a close.**

Chapter 5: The rescue

Link traveled as fast as he could towards Outset Island. As he got closer, he saw that he had guessed correctly: the house was on fire. Link prayed that no one was inside. Link observed the crowd of islanders outside the house, but something didn't feel right as if something, or someone, was missing.

"Heelp..." Aryll yelled, sounding tired. The inside of the house was on fire and was causing smoke throughout the room. Aryll coughed as the smoke infiltrated her airway. It was getting hard for her to breathe due to all the smoke. The flames also created a blazingly unbearable atmosphere. Aryll was beginning to feel dizzy. She fell to her knees, feeling weak from the fire. She collapsed to her side, unable to pick herself back up. She looked at the photo in her hand one last time. _"Goodbye, grandma. Goodbye, big brother"_ she thought to herself as she clutched the photograph with her remaining strength and accepted fate.

Grandma stood there helplessly, still praying for a miracle to occur, when suddenly she heard mixed shouts. "Look!", "Out at the sea!" , "It's him!" she heard several people yell, all pointing at the sea. Grandma turned around and couldn't believe what she saw: Link in his red lion boat sailing this way!

Link quickly hopped out of his boat and ran towards his Grandmother. "Link! You're here!" she said, hugging him tightly. Link quickly asked "Grandma, where is Aryll?". Grandma started crying "Oh, Link. It's terrible! She's trapped in there!" she said, pointing to the burning home. Link felt his heart go down to his stomach. His little sister was in a life-or-death situation. She is trapped in a deadly inferno of blazing heat and ferocious flames. She could die all because of his tardiness.

_"No... not today! "_ thought Link subconsciously. _"Aryll, I promised you I'd be here! I didn't come here for nothing!"_ he said, forming his hand into a tight fist as he ran at full speed into the flame-engulfed house. "Link!" he heard his grandmother yell behind him. Link ran though the flames blocking the patio entrance and rammed down the burning wooden door. Immediately as Link set foot in there, he began to sweat. He kept his arms in front of his face for protection. He quickly dodged a falling piece of debris and began to search for Aryll.

Just as Aryll was about to lose consciousness, she heard someone call her name, but the difference was that this voice came from inside the house. Aryll used every remaining ounce of energy she had to glance upward. Before she lost consciousness, she saw a blurry figure of a man in green clothes with blonde hair.

Since the house isn't too big, Link quickly found his sister. She was lying on the floor next to her bed with a photo in her hand. "Aryll!" he said, lifting her head up. She was unconscious. Link had to protect her from further harm. He carried her in his arms and mafe his way to the exit. Link started coughing and wheezing due to the inhalation of smoke. He quickly got out, somehow only slighly burned, made his way to the shore and fell to the ground coughing.

"Aryll?" he said, hoping she was okay. He splashed cold water onto her face, hoping she would open her eyes. Suddenly, Grandma came next to Link, her eyes full of tears. Link also had tears in his eyes. "Aryll?" he said, sounding broken. "C'mon, little sister. Don't do this to me! I haven't seen you in so long! Please! Don't be dead! " he pleaded, tears streaming down his face. "Aryll! Please! Please, please, damn it!" he cried, continuing to splash water onto Aryll's face, but she didn't wake up. "No! This isn't fair! This is all my fault! I was too late! Aryll, I'm sorry. I couldn't keep my promise. Please forgive me!" he sobbed, caressing his limp sister in a tight embrace. Link cried along with his grandmother, both hugging Aryll. The other islanders were also crying at the sad scene.

Suddenly, Aryll slowly opened her eyes to see her grandmother and the green-clothed blonde man crying. Link saw this and got her attention. "Aryll? Are you okay?" he asked her. "Who are you?" she asked weakly. "Aryll, it's me. Your big brother, Link. I'm here!" he said, starting to lightly smile. Aryll finally saw clearly again, but couldn't believe it. Her big brother, right here in front of her? After she waited for so long, he was finally here? Tears built up in her eyes as she hugged her brother and sobbed into his shirt "Big brother! It's really you! I don't believe it! You're here!" she said, crying tears of joy. As much as Link felt like crying with her, he stayed strong and held it in.

"Whoa, seems like you had a rough day, Aryll." he said, brushing her hair with his hand.

"I missed you, big brother. I waited for you all day. And when you didn't show up, I thought you forgot about me..." said Aryll, getting teary-eyed again.

"Aw, come on. How could I forget my own sister's birthday?" said Link. "Besides, I never break a promise. Remember?"

"Aryll, I'm really sorry that I came late. It's just that I was captured by these weird bokoblin pirates and I-" he said, until his sister interrupted him. "It's okay. You're here now. That's all that matters. " said Aryll as she hugged her brother lovingly.

The next day, everything went back to normal. Sure, the house might have been destroyed, but at least no one got hurt. The fire was extinguished and everyone was okay. Link and Aryll spent the day at the lookout together, Aryll was gazing at the gulls and Link was eating the slice of cake that Aryll had saved him.

"Big brother, how long are you planning to stay?" asked Aryll.

"Hmm, I was gonna stay for about 3-4 days only..." said Link, "...but after what I put you through, I guess I'll stay for a few weeks. Sure, Tetra will kill me when I get back, but oh well."

Aryll giggled and said, "Okay then. Now I can make plans so that we can make the most of it."

"Wait, that reminds me; yesterday was your birthday right?" Link asked her. She nodded and Link replied, "Great, because I have a present for you. Happy Late-birthday!". he said, holding out a colorful box. Aryll unwrapped the present and saw what was inside: it was a stuffed animal, specifically a seagull. Aryll loved it.

"Thanks, Link! I love it." she said, "But I already got the best present I could ask for." "What's that?" asked Link, sounding puzzled. Aryll hugged him lovingly and said "My big brother".

**Author's Notes: Done! Finally finished my first story! To those that clicked this story and read the whole thing, I say thank you. If you can leave feedback telling me how I did, I'd really appreciate it. Feel free to read my other stories if you wish. Songs that inspired this story were ****_Hey Brother by Avicii_**** and ****_Right Now by One Direction_****. Thanks for reading! Until next time! Triforce03 out!**


End file.
